POTENTIAL OWNERS' REQUIREMENTS FOR GREEN HOMES

Abstract

Singapore is vulnerable to climate change, caused by global warming. To mitigate harmful effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, Singapore needs to reduce its main greenhouse gases emissions (GHG), carbon dioxide (CO2). In Singapore, the building sector is the third largest contributor of GHG. As such, developers have look into the construction of environmentally sustainable or green homes to reduce energy consumption and in turn, reduce CO2 emissions in Singapore. This study seeks to identify the importance of green homes, the extent of willingness to pay extra for green homes and the types of green features required by potential home owners. Questionnaire survey is adopted to collect data from randomly selected individuals for the study. Two hypotheses are set out for testing. The results show that green homes are important to potential home owners, especially the element of easy maintenance. However, they are not that willing to pay significantly more to buy green homes than what they would need to pay for traditional non-green homes. The study found that the important green features required by potential home owners are public transport accessibility, quiet and healthy indoor environment and natural ventilation. The least required green features are sky rise greenery, environment protection and resource conservation. Potential home owners tend to prefer green features that are built in their homes rather than outside their homes. They also prefer green features that directly involve and affect their way of living.